"Gulp… one punch… and half its head just… shattered?"
"As expected… that guy may look young, but he's terrifyingly strong!"
"I knew this would happen…"
"Sh-sh-shattered? That was a fully manifested Shukaku! And a Konoha shinobi just blew its head apart with one punch?!"
Nearby, Temari stared at the scene, her hands and feet turning cold.
Her grip on the giant three-star fan trembled so badly she could barely hold it.
The weapon she'd always relied on suddenly felt meaningless—like she should just throw it away and pretend none of this was real.
Because right now…
she didn't even have the courage to fight.
If before she had looked down on Konoha—
now all that remained was fear.
"B-b-blown apart?"
Not just her.
Far away, Rasa's eyes bulged as he stared.
"Shukaku's head… blasted apart? How is that possible?!"
His voice rose sharply, like he'd just witnessed the impossible.
As one of the people responsible for suppressing Shukaku's rampages, he understood better than anyone how powerful that tailed beast was.
A beast with strength.
With intelligence.
Even most Kage-level fighters would struggle against it.
THUD!
While he was frozen in shock, a staff suddenly jabbed toward him.
"Now isn't the time to be spacing out."
The Third Hokage panted lightly, gripping the Adamantine Staff tight.
No point worrying about Shukaku.
He should worry about himself.
Because unless Kai Uchiha wasn't in the village—
that thing was never going to cause real chaos here.
Inside Naruto's seal space—
"PFFT! HAHAHA! Serves you right, ugly mutt!"
Kurama laughed so hard he practically spat chakra.
His four paws stomped wildly, nine tails thrashing in delight.
"You stupid tanuki! Turned into a statue with one punch, huh?! Hahaha! Picking a fight with that Uchiha brat—now you're finished! Absolutely finished!"
After laughing, he suddenly paused.
"Wait… it's made of sand… got punched into a statue…"
"…does that make it… an actual sand sculpture idiot?"
Back on the street—
Shukaku slammed heavily into the ground.
The remaining third of its head hung there blankly.
It had even forgotten to regenerate.
Only the dull ache in its jaw—and the terrifying force that had struck deep into its very soul—kept it stunned.
Sand trickled down.
Soft.
Endless.
"Guh… uhh…"
It tried to speak, but only croaks came out—like a toad being stepped on.
Nearly three minutes passed before it managed to patch the hole in its head with sand.
Its once-mocking eye finally regained focus.
Slowly…
it turned toward Kai.
"H-human…"
It wanted to say something—anything—to recover a shred of tailed-beast dignity.
But only muffled whimpers escaped.
Inside, its chakra churned, trying to surge again.
Trying to restore that overwhelming presence.
It failed.
Something was holding it down.
No—
not just blocking.
Something was gnawing at its chakra.
Tap.
Kai gently set Sasuke down.
Then stepped forward—
and landed lightly on the bridge of Shukaku's freshly patched nose.
Looking down at it from above, silver light flickering under his feet.
"So tell me," Kai said calmly, "when you go out into the world… what's it about again?"
One sentence.
And Shukaku froze.
After a long pause, it rasped:
"…Connections!"
"Yeah! Connections!"
The moment the words left its mouth, it clung to them like a lifeline.
"Out here it's all about connections! The Nine-Tails belongs to your village—and me and the Nine-Tails are buddies!"
"So by extension… that makes me your buddy too!"
With its chakra being eaten away, it was genuinely panicking.
Kai: …
Kurama inside Naruto: !!!!
He'd never noticed before—
but Shukaku's shamelessness was truly on another level.
And the switch in attitude?
Perfectly smooth.
Not a hint of hesitation.
Unfortunately—
Kai wasn't listening.
Or rather, couldn't be bothered.
He simply lifted his foot…
and stepped down again.
Tap.
Right onto Shukaku's freshly repaired giant eye.
Pain exploded once more.
"DAMN IT! HUMAN BRAT, NOW I'M REALLY MAD!"
"I only held back earlier for Kurama's sake!"
"You don't actually think I'm scared of you, do you?!"
Shukaku roared.
Its rage surged—
and the previously jammed chakra suddenly burst outward across its body.
It was going to fight back.
Thick, dark-red chakra mixed with sand exploded outward in a spider-web spray toward Kai.
It hit nothing.
Every strand of sand and chakra vanished the instant it neared him—
swallowed by a massive vortex.
Dual Kamui — spatial transfer.
Kai stepped forward again, standing atop the sand giant's head, murmuring:
"…Still no prompt."
"Guess I haven't hit it hard enough yet."
Next second—
his right hand rose high.
CLANK!
Black chains burst into existence.
One end coiled in Kai's hand.
The other plunged straight into empty space—
as if anchored in another dimension.
"Ghh—!!"
The moment Shukaku saw the chain, it panicked violently.
It understood now.
That thing—
that was what had frozen its chakra.
That terrifying power belonged to those black chains.
"Just stay still and be a punching bag," Kai said lightly.
Then the chain lashed down.
But just before it struck—
the massive beast suddenly collapsed into flowing sand,
melting away and vanishing.
In its place—
stood a short red-clad boy with the kanji like on his forehead.
Gaara.
He looked momentarily dazed by waking up so suddenly.
But when his eyes landed on Kai—
his cold lips slowly curled into a faint smile.
"Shukaku… so you finally left me some prey?"
"In that case…"
"I suppose I'll just have to—"
"kill to my heart's content."
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